Steel isn't the only thing that's hard. MADDIE Deacon was older than me, but I wanted him regardless. He had this raw edge to him, this primal aura surrounding him that made me feel wholly feminine. He was the epitome of a man...a real man. Even his profession was masculine: a blacksmith. I had no doubt he knew how to work his hands over a woman, how to use them to make her feel the soft and hard sides of him. What I wanted was for him to be my first...my only. DEACON She thought I didn't see her watching me, that I didn't know she wanted me. I knew, and I wanted her with a fierceness that...

It wasn't until Cameron that I knew what real darkness was...or that I'd crave it so much. I've let the world weigh down on me, pull me under until nothing makes sense anymore. Maybe that's how I let myself get into this mess. Maybe that's how I'm in my current situation with a man I knew could save me from a fate worse than death. Even if being with Cameron, giving him the very part of me, the only part that's worth anything-my body-might very well ruin me, I have to survive. Drug lord. Crime boss. Murderer. I should fear him, be horrified by what he wants from me, by who he is. But instead...

He'll show her exactly what's under his kilt. MOLLY The first time I saw Mr. McGowan, he was walking into our class wearing a kilt. Our substitute professor, he was big and brooding, masculine, and had a sexy Scottish brogue going on. Maybe I didn't need that extra tutoring, but I sure as hell wanted it. ALASTAIR I noticed Molly the moment I stepped into the classroom. She was the wee lass with the fire-colored hair, the intense green eyes, and a body that had me burning alive. I didn't want to look away from her because I knew she was mine. Maybe there was a rule about staff not fraternizing...

Aston Locke Whispers of the Locke brothers fill the town, facts and reality twisted to fit what these motherfuckers believe they know about us. That we're sadistic bastards, incapable of any real emotions or fear. Maybe they're not wrong about that. That is, until I set my sights on Kadence King, getting just as drawn to her as I am the darkness. It's the first time I've felt anything in a long time. But would she really be scared knowing the depth, the lengths I go with my brothers to make any fucker who crosses us pay? I need a woman who can accept me for who I am. For what I am. I'm hoping...

He wanted my innocence. He wanted to own me. I just wanted to be his. JACKSON I wanted Megan from the moment I first saw her, and nothing would keep me from her. I could have been called a bastard for knowing her father would fail in paying me for a mutual business agreement, for knowing I would take Megan as payment. But she was mine and in my world, when I wanted something, I took it. And I wanted her. She was bought and paid for, collateral damage when her father failed to uphold his end of the deal. They all think it's only for a week. They're wrong. I'm keeping her. MEGAN My father...